I love food: recipes, restaurants, etc. This blog is about sharing the food I love and having others share theirs with me.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Budget Friendly Food

I am on a budget-friendly food kick these days. Many people have suggested shopping at Aldi to save money, but I never did until recently.Despite some minor chaos due to a brief rainstorm, reusable shopping bags that were buried in my dirty trunk and not knowing Aldi’s system of shopping carts or credit card usage, I came out pretty well.I also shopped the store ads and made out like a bandit at Hy-Vee.Due to the suggestion of many different friends, I’ve discovered several online coupon & discount suggestion sites to save money on groceries, along with many restaurants that have email clubs you can sign up for and get free or discounted items.So far, here are my fave restaurant finds:

free appetizer or dessert (up to $8 value) at TGI Fridays

buy one, get one free Blizzards at Dairy Queen

free Potato Ole’s at Taco John’s

free ice cream at Cold Stone on your birthday

free root beer float or freeze at A&W with purchase

buy one, get one free breakfast entrée at Mimi’s Café

buy one, get one free entrée at Cheeseburger In Paradise

free small spaghetti at Fazoli’s

buy one, get one free drink at Orange Julius

free bagel with cream cheese at Bruegger’s Bagels

free $10 game play at Dave & Buster’s (For my hubby & not really food relatedbut still a great deal!)

I have yet to figure out what great deals I’m going to get at Red Lobster for signing up for their club, but I’m anxiously awaiting the day they tell me I get free shrimp scampi or lobster on my birthday!!

Agreed, Aanna! Some tips I've seen are to buy only produce that is in season. And I've started to print coupons online for other items that wouldn't otherwise always fall into the budget. Coupons.com is great!

Cari-do you make Turkey burgers or tacos with ground turkey? I have never tried it....but have been thinking about it. And where can I get a coupon for FREE potato oles? They are a huge weakness of mine! With extra nacho cheese of course..

I have tried both with turkey, Hillary! And meatloaf, chili, sloppy joes, etc. Most things it's good in. It has a slightly different texture which is only noticeable sometimes, but I also think you get used to it. I believe if you sign up for Taco John's email fan club online you will get sent a coupon, but it could have been a limited time thing, too. Worth a try, though!! I love mine with sour cream. Hmm...